Unveiled Prophecies
by BigBadWolfTardis
Summary: About a week before Halloween, James and Lily are attacked at Potter Manor. They decide to have the prophecy analysed by a true seer, who warns them about the dark and miserable future that is set out for their son. How will their actions after this warning change Harry's life? What paths will this alternate timeline take? Will Harry and his allies manage to beat Voldemort?
1. Attack on Potter Manor

**Hello : ) I know there are other stories out there like this one, but I've always wanted to write one of my own : )** **I actually started this story several years ago, under the name 'Foreknowledge is Power'. I posted it, but I was never completely satisfied with it. There were just little things that niggled me about it, so I eventually took it down.**

 **It was always my intention to rework some stuff in the story and put it up again, I just never really had the time. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't going to start working on this project again for at least another year, but then some of my plans changed and I decided to come back to this story now : )**

 **Anyway, without further ado - welcome to Unveiled Prophecies : )**

 **Please remember that Harry Potter is not mine, and I hope you enjoy this story : )**

* * *

 **Unveiled Prophecies**

* * *

 **Attack on Potter Manor**

* * *

James Potter groaned in annoyance as he clapped an exhausted hand against his forehead. The half-asleep man was attempting to block out a rather obnoxious tapping sound. He was currently tucked up in bed with his beautiful wife Lily, his muscular arms wrapped around her slender form, his chin resting on her shoulder.

 _Tap. Tap. Tap_.

James let out a growl of frustration. His hazel eyes snapped open in anger, and he glared murderously around the room.

What the bloody hell was that infernal tapping?

Shifting his weight carefully to avoid waking Lily - although how she could sleep through that damn tapping he'd never know - James propped himself up on his elbows and continued scanning the room. Unfortunately, without his glasses he didn't have much luck in identifying the source of the disturbance.

Snatching them up from their position on his nightstand, along with his wand - just in case - James slipped on his round-rimmed spectacles. The world immediately sharpened into focus. A scowl crawled across James' handsome face as he finally laid eyes on the thing that had dragged him out of dreamland and back into reality.

An owl.

It was a bloody _owl_.

 _Somebody_ had sent him a bloody _owl_ at _six-fifteen_ in the morning. James let out a grunt of displeasure. If this was Sirius playing some kind of lame joke on him, James was going to _kill_ him.

Rolling out of bed, James slipped on the novelty lion-shaped slippers Lily had given him for Christmas - a gift he would _never_ live down if his friends ever found out about - and began to cross the bedroom.

The room itself was beautiful. Sleek, stylish red carpet covered the floor and the walls were painted with rich gold colouring. Mahogany furniture lined the walls, and a grand master bed filled most of the space, with red hangings and bedding covering the sleeping form of Lily.

James smiled lovingly down at her. This was nothing he wouldn't do for his wife and their infant son Harry. They were his world. They were his _everything_. It was for them that James was fighting in the war of light versus darkness. He wanted a better world, a _peaceful_ world, for them.

And by damn he would do _anything_ he could to make them one.

His warm smile melted away however as he turned to the window to let the large tawny owl perched on the windowsill in. James' face twisted into a perplexed frown. Now that his mind had had a few moments to fully awaken and shake off the last of his sleep, he was beginning to wonder exactly what the owl was doing there.

He doubted very much that this was a joke after all.

The war-time they lived in didn't allow people much of a sense of humour anymore. Plus, the manor the Potter family lived in was protected by some of the most powerful and ancient wards known to wizard-kind. The only way the owl could have got through the enchantments and protection charms over the manor in the first place was if it was sent by an individual that was keyed into the wards, allowing them free access to the manor.

Given the current climate of the war, that list was rather a short one.

Add in the fact that the entire manor had been in lock-down for almost a year now, with little to no contact with the outside world, and James couldn't help but be curious as to who could have sent the letter. And why it couldn't wait until a more sociable hour.

 _Tap. Tap. Tap._

James rolled his eyes in annoyance. It appeared that this particular owl was a rather impatient one. He didn't want the blasted bird to disturb his wife however. Harry had not slept well at all last night, and Lily had been the one to spend most of it up with him. It was for that reason that James quickly opened the window and stepped back.

The owl gracefully soared past him, flew in a wide circle of the room, before it dropped its letter on the floor, and flew out the window again without some much as a backwards glance. James certainly wasn't sorry to see the back of it. In fact, he was rather happy to be able to shut the window behind the wretched thing.

But being much more interested in the reason for his early wake-up call than the offending party itself, James crossed the room to retrieve the fallen letter.

He looked down at it, his eyes narrowed in distrust and suspicion.

Whilst he knew that the letter had to have been sent by someone his family trusted enough to allow access through the wards, James was still conscious of the fact that there was still the slightest chance that something nasty might slip through. Deciding he couldn't be too safe, James flicked his wand in a complicated movement, and ran a quick diagnostic spell over the sealed letter. The letter glowed with a shimmering pale blue light.

James heaved a sigh of relief.

Blue meant that there was nothing untoward or dangerous hidden in the letter, nor were there any jinxes or curses to be wary of. It was kind of sad really. That something as simple as opening a letter had been reduced to running checks like that, all because of the war.

Still, in the current times, it was a necessity.

With the letter having been deemed safe, James picked it up, and was not surprised to find it addressed to himself and Lily. He quickly tore into it, a sense of urgency in his movements now. After all, they were at war. And this letter had to be important if it was to deprive him of his sleep. James' eyes quickly began scanning through the letter.

 _"Dear James and Lily,_

 _This message is of the upmost urgency. Voldemort is preparing to attack Potter Manor, **today**! You both know of his strength, and his determination to rid himself of you all. You **must** evacuate immediately, or prepare **all** your defences. I do not know when he will attack, but it shall be soon. I myself will gather some of our closer forces and arrive to help as soon as I can._

 _A. P. W. B. Dumbledore"_

James felt the blood drain from his face. His eyes widened as a sickening feeling of dread settled in his stomach, and the room seemed to spin around him. His hands shook in horrible fear as the letter's words sunk in.

He was coming.

No, no, no! This couldn't be happening. This _couldn't_ be happening! The monster was coming for his baby boy, his precious baby boy, who had done nothing to deserve any of this. It wasn't fair.

 _No_.

James quickly shook his head. He took several deep breaths in a pitiful attempt to calm himself. The man knew that he couldn't afford to panic right now. His wife needed him to focus. His _son_ needed him to focus.

It was only by doing so would they all survive this day.

Repeating that in his head like it was his own personal mantra, James immediately snapped into action.

"Lily! Lily, get up! _Now!_ " he yelled, trying desperately hard to keep the panic out of his voice. If Lily was going to be calm, then _he_ needed to be calm for her.

Lily jerked awake with a start, and immediately glanced around the room, already sensing that trouble was afoot. Her emerald green eyes locked with her husband's hazel ones.

Lily felt her heart plummet and her stomach twist unpleasantly. She recognised that look on his face. Thanks to the times they lived in, Lily had sadly grown far too accustomed to it. Something bad had happened. Lily just _knew_ it. Something bad had happened to someone they loved, or something bad was about to happen. Either way, Lily just knew she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear.

"What's happened James?" she asked him, working hard to keep her voice level.

Flying into a blind panic wouldn't help.

"He's coming Lily" James told her grimly, his eyes dark, "He's coming here. Look"

He thrust the letter from Dumbledore at her. Lily's emerald eyes scanned the letter, and she promptly turned a ghastly shade of white. Without sparing her husband so much as a frightened glance, Lily scrambled out of her side of the bed and stumbled to her feet, her wand already in hand.

"James, what do we do? Where do we go?" she cried, unable to prevent the fear entering her voice.

Try as hard as she might not to show it, Lily was _afraid_. Voldemort was after her beautiful baby. An innocent child. Her heart clenched at the very thought of that evil bastard within two miles of her infant son. But Lily wasn't going to fall apart. She refused too. Her son needed her to be calm right now. For him, for his father, and for everybody else she cared about.

James rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he regarded her question. From the expression on his face, it was obvious that the man was torn over the matter of which action they should take.

One the one hand, Potter Manor had some of the best defences known to wizard-kind. James knew that not even a whole army could break through the wards. And even if they managed to get past them and into the grounds, which was next to impossible, James knew that an intruder wouldn't survive the defences on the inside.

But on the other hand, Voldemort was not your average wizard.

James wasn't even sure the man was completely human, and not just because of his heartless nature, but because of the sheer amount of magic he could wield. There was no way to be certain how well the manor's defences would fair against the Dark Lord. But James did know one thing.

Running away was _not_ the answer.

His parents had always taught him to have faith in the manor. And by Merlin, he was going too.

"We stay here. We activate the defences and fight" James eventually declared.

There was a steely determination in his voice that Lily had rarely heard there. The redhead immediately tensed up. Her mind was already rushing back to the memories of herself and her husband narrowly escaping Voldemort twice before. Needless to say, those were hardly pleasant occasions. And as loathed though she was to admit it, Lily wasn't so sure they could pull off a third escape.

"James... are you sure?" she couldn't help but question in a nervous voice, "You know how determined he is. How _powerful_ he is. I think we should leave".

James shook his head sadly. He hated hearing that note of fear in her voice, but he was sure that staying put was the right course of action.

"Have faith in the manor Lily" he urged her, "It will protect us, I _promise_. Come on, we should start preparing...".

James was cut off as an deafeningly shrill squealing noise echoed throughout the manor house and its grounds. James' face turned a ghastly shade of white. No, no, no. It couldn't be _that_ sound. Not yet. But it was.

And James immediately understood what it meant.

The noise was an alarm set to a detection spell that warned them about nearby wizards. Naturally there were several exceptions to the detector, for example, it didn't go off whenever Dumbledore or Sirius came around. James and Lily hardly wanted the alarms going off every time one of their friends dropped in.

 _No_.

Whoever the spell was alerting them to was a stranger. And it stood to reason that there was only one person that stranger could be right now. It was Voldemort. After the warning they had just received, there was nothing else that made sense.

He had arrived.

"Oh god James" Lily whimpered in fright.

James quickly pulled her to him, and she buried her face in his chest.

"Hush sweetheart, it's all going to be okay" he soothed her.

"How can you say that?!" Lily choked out tearfully, almost losing herself to her growing nerves, "He wants to kill our son. _Our baby_ ".

James had to work _extremely_ hard to blink back tears of his own.

"The manor will keep us safe" he so desperately wanted to believe that, "Look... g-go check on Harry. He'll need you".

Lily looked up from his chest at him with _terrified_ eyes. It shattered James' heart to see her so afraid, but the harsh reality was that with Voldemort constantly coming after them, he was growing more accustom to seeing her like this.

And it pained him every single time.

"What about you?" she whimpered.

James heaved a heavy sigh. That was quite a loaded question, and he had a feeling that his wife wouldn't be pleased with his answer.

"I'm going down to the grounds" he informed her. Lily opened her mouth to protest. James quickly spoke again before she had the chance to, "I know, I know. I don't want to leave you either, and I doubt he'll get in" James soothed her, but it was nowhere near enough to ease Lily of her troubles, "Lily. I don't have a choice. I need to be there to activate the rest of the manor's defences".

Lily swallowed hard, eyes frightened.

"Can't you do it from here?" she pleaded desperately, "I can't stand the thought of you being so close to... to _him_ ".

James solemnly shook his head.

"I can't. I wish I could" he gently explained to her, "I need to be that close because the defences need an imprint of my magical signature. I can't do that from here".

"J... James, be careful" Lily whispered, her eyes bright with tears, "And if he gets in, just apparate away. I'll take one of the Portkeys with Harry".

"Okay" James agreed to her request.

"And... I love you" Lily whimpered, eyes burning with unshed tears.

James couldn't help the sad, albeit strained, smile that lit up his face. Despite the bleak situation around them, James never got tired of hearing her say those three wonderful little words.

"I love you too" he told her, praying it would not be for the last time.

The two of them headed for the bedroom door. James' mind immediately turned back to what Lily had just said about them fleeing. That was one of the good things about owning a manor like Potter Manor. James - as head of the house - could apparate within the grounds, but nobody else could get in or out that same way. Unfortunately however, that also included Lily and baby Harry, so he had asked Dumbledore to create them several Portkeys; some to Hogwarts, some to Sirius's flat, and even a few to the headquarters for The Order of the Phoenix, which both he and Lily were apart of. That way, Lily and Harry would also be able to make a swift escape if they ever needed too.

As they emerged on the landing, Lily glanced in the direction of Harry's nursery, before she turned to her husband and swallowed hard. She prayed with every fibre of her being that this wouldn't be the last time she saw him alive. She tried her best to memorise his handsome face, just in case...

James sensed where her dark thoughts had led her, and quickly pulled her close to him.

"I love you" he repeated to her lovingly.

James then pressed a passionate, almost _desperate_ kiss against Lily's lips, before he dashed off down the stairs, clinging frantically to the hope that they would be reunited soon. He was horribly aware however, that which each step he took, his beloved Lily and his precious baby boy were getting further and further away.

And his showdown with Voldemort was drawing ever closer.

* * *

Lily charged in the direction of the nursery.

Soon enough, she heard the sound of her baby crying. Lily assumed that the alarms had awoken Harry from his slumber, and as his mother, Lily knew that just like his father, her little boy did _not_ like being disturbed from his sleep. The young mother put on an extra burst of speed. Within seconds, she was bursting into the nursery, and her emerald eyes immediately fell upon the beautiful cot which stood beneath the window. Her son's nursery was truly beautiful. The walls were painted a bright sunny yellow, and the wide window flooded the room with light. Stuffed animals and brightly coloured toys littered the room.

Lily smiled despite the situation they were all in.

Those toys had been given to them from their families, the marauders, even the staff at Hogwarts, and various members of the Order. Everyone that cared about them. And of course, James couldn't help but spoil their baby boy as well. Then again, neither could she. Lily shook herself. This wasn't the time to be thinking about such trivial things. This was an emergency. One she planned on getting her son away from as soon as humanly possible.

Lily dashed over to the cot and looked down into it.

Again, she smiled despite herself. She couldn't help it though. Seeing him in there, her beautiful baby, safe in his cot and so, _so_ tiny. It made her heart ache for a world in which he wasn't in such constant danger. Harry had climbed to his little feet and was gripping the bars of his cot with his tiny fists. His sparkling green eyes were shining with tears as he reached up to her, clearly wanting her to pick him up.

"Oh, sweetie" Lily cooed at him gently, "Did the nasty noise wake you up?"

Harry gurgled back up at her.

Lily knew she ought to be panicking, and hell she had been before, but she needed to stay calm right now. _Harry_ needed her to be calm right now. And so Lily picked him up, and cradled him to her chest, hugging him gently. Instantly she felt better, despite knowing they weren't out of the woods yet. Nevertheless, it was a relief to have her son safely in her arms.

Knowing that there wasn't much time however, Lily forced some haste into her actions, and hurried over to a small chest of draws with her child clutched to her chest.

Set on top of the piece of furniture was a small stuffed animal. A jet black dog to be exact. Harry simply adored it - much to Sirius' delight - however these days the toy held a purpose far greater than just being an object of comfort for a small child.

These days, the stuffed dog was a Portkey.

That had been Lily's idea. She wanted a Portkey close to where Harry spent most of his time, so that in the event of an emergency - much like this one - both the child and the means of escape would be in the same place. It was more of a time-saving exercise than anything else. The only reason the toy was on the chest of draws was so that Harry wouldn't be able to reach it, and accidently be teleported to one of the safe-houses by himself without them knowing.

Lily was extremely relieved she'd had that idea now.

This way, Harry would be able to make a swift exit long before Voldemort could get anywhere near him. Lily frowned suddenly, lost in a deep thought. She knew that she needed to get Harry to safety. That was a top priority naturally, but she simply couldn't abandon her husband either. They were a team. A damn good one at that. And James needed her by his side to help him fight.

But how could she choose?

Her son needed to be taken to safety, that was a given, but her husband also needed her to help him stay alive. Her heart clenched painfully as Lily reached a solution to both problems.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart" Lily whispered into her baby's soft hair, "I'm _sorry_. Please forgive Mummy".

With tears in her eyes, Lily placed the Portkey in Harry's little hands. Immediately, the boy cuddled the toy to his chest, his tears stopping as he held the stuffed dog. Lily gently placed her baby and his stuffed dog back into his cot, before she went back to the draws and scribbled a quick note on some parchment.

Hating herself for sending her son away all by himself, Lily coiled her letter into a scroll and pressed it into Harry's hand. He looked at it curiously, before waving it around excitedly, thinking it was a new toy. It was not a toy however.

It was a note to Professor Minerva McGonagall.

James and Lily, upon the agreement of Albus Dumbledore, had ultimately decided that the safest place for Harry in times of need would be Hogwarts. Voldemort would never _dare_ set foot inside the castle. Not whilst Dumbledore still lived. And the castle was exactly where this particular Portkey was destined for. Soon Harry would be going.

 _Alone_.

"I'm so sorry Harry" Lily whimpered, praying she was making the right decision.

After all, Harry needed his father, just as much as he needed his mother. He _deserved_ to have them both.

"Remember that no matter what happens, Mummy and Daddy will always love you" Lily whispered, a few tears leaking from her eyes, "We both love you so much. I'm so sorry".

Lily slowly brought up her wand, and drawing a deep breath, she activated the Portkey. Her baby, her _precious baby_ , vanished in a flash of light. Lily couldn't hold back a choked sob. Her heart felt as though it was shattering. Never in a million years would Lily forget that sight. The sight of her baby disappearing before her very eyes. She truly felt terrible for not going with him, for not being with Harry, but James still needed her too. Despite the mother in her wanting to go, the wife in her was fighting to stay.

It was like being in turmoil with herself.

But Harry was _safe_.

Lily forced herself to remember that. He had got away, and Voldemort couldn't get near him now. Lily nodded to herself. Harry was safe, and she didn't have time to feel guilty right now. Her husband needed her. Forcing herself to move, Lily wiped the tears from her eyes and sprinted from the room. There was only one thing left to do now. She had to face down Voldemort for the third time. Lily ran for the stairs, her heart pounding wildly beneath her chest.

She could only hope that it would still be beating by the time this was all over.

* * *

James sprinted through the manor, using his wand to quickly transfigure his clothing from pyjamas to a Muggle hoodie and jeans as he went. He point-blank _refused_ to dress as conservatively as many other wizards did. Muggle clothing was much more comfortable, and less restricting which allowed him to move his arms for spell work more freely. Plus he had no desire to face Voldemort in his pyjamas. A man still needed his dignity after all.

James hurried through the back door of the kitchen and out into the manor's grounds.

If it was any other time, James would have stopped to admire them. All his life he had lived at Potter Manor, but the grounds still never failed to amaze the man with their beauty. They really were something special. Acres of green fields filled with flowers, with bushes and trees dotted about, and dozens of deer and wild rabbits meandering about. James just hoped some of the beauty would still be intact after what was about to happen.

"Point me" James whispered to his wand.

Whilst in the manor, the spell worked differently to how it usually worked. It was because of the magical wards that surrounded the grounds and building. Instead of pointing north like the spell was designed too, when used inside the perimeter of Potter Manor, his wand would point him towards whatever he wanted it too. For example, if he was looking for lily, James could use the spell and it would point towards her. Right now however, he wasn't thinking about his lovely wife. He was thinking about the intruder.

James' wand started spinning in his hand, and soon enough, it stopped and pointed in a single direction. James' narrowed eyes followed the beacon. So _that_ was the direction the danger was in. He couldn't help but grimace.

James _really_ wasn't looking forward to this showdown.

Nevertheless, the man bravely charged on, sprinting past the various marble statues and the trickling water fountains that decorated the grounds. Soon enough, James reached the outer wall. Fifteen foot high walls made of cold grey stonework; these were the physical walls that surrounded the Potter family's home. They were steeped in magical protections - some as old as the manor itself, others recently added by James himself - and now if a spell were to hit the wall, it would simply bounce off it.

Still, James wasn't sure if Voldemort would be able to break through the wall's defences.

The man was somewhat of a wild-card when it came to magic. James was just praying for his family's sake that the enchantments would hold. He just wanted his wife and son to be safe.

That wasn't too much to ask for... right?

* * *

Lily was hurtling past the main living room of Potter Manor, when suddenly the fireplace erupted with green flames. She couldn't hold back the sigh of relief that escaped her. Stepping out from amongst the emerald green flames was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Lily didn't even have to worry about him being an imposter. Even in the unlikely event of a Death Eater being able to obtain a piece of Dumbledore to use Polyjuice Potion, or casting charms to alter their appearance that the manor's magic couldn't break - nobody could get past the wards if they weren't keyed into them. Only Voldemort himself could be the possible exception, and even _that_ wasn't proved.

Lily just hoped that she wasn't going to find out the answer to that today.

The redhead forced that disturbing thought away as she watched Dumbledore brush some ash and soot off his robes. He already had his wand in hand. And it was for that reason that Lily already felt about ten times better about this whole situation.

"Albus!" She cried in relief.

Her old headmaster straightened up and spotted her.

"Lily!" Dumbledore didn't bother with the usual pleasantries today, for which Lily was rather grateful, "Minerva informed me about Harry's sudden arrive in her office using her Patronus. I can only assume that the attack is happening now?"

Lily nodded her head grimly.

Dumbledore grimaced, but squared his shoulders and tightened his grip on his wand. It was more than obvious he was ready for a duel.

"Lead the way" he ordered.

Not needing to be told twice, Lily promptly ran off through the manor, Dumbledore trailing after her.

* * *

"James!"

James whirled on the spot when he heard someone yelling his name. The first thing he saw was Lily. She was charging towards him, whilst at the same time transfiguring her own pyjamas into more appropriate clothing. She was now wearing a warm-looking red woolly jumper, and black jeans. But Lily wasn't alone. James couldn't help the grin that lit up his face, nor the relieved sigh that escaped his lips, as he clapped eyes on Albus Dumbledore hurrying towards him. Despite his age, the old man was running quite easily towards James, his silver beard trailing over his shoulder.

Under different circumstances, James might have found the sight amusing.

Right now though, he was much more focused on the fact that his chances of staying alive had just risen ten-fold. Soon enough, Lily and Dumbledore joined James at the corden of Potter Manor.

"James, what is the situation?" Dumbledore asked, a note of urgency in his tone.

"I don't know yet, I was just about to…" James started to say, but his wife cut him off abruptly.

"Tisby!" Lily yelled loudly.

For a moment, there was no response. Then with a startling loud crack, Tisby, the Potter Family House-Elf, appeared before the three humans. The female elf was young for her kind, but she was not treated as a slave like so many others of her kind. James and Lily were both exceptionally kind to her. They paid her - something that most wizarding families, and brainwashed House-Elves heavily frowned upon - and even gave her weekends off. Tisby had tried to refuse at first, but James and Lily were having none of it. Tisby was a living creature and therefore she deserved rights. And they were all much happier for it.

"Yes Mistress Lily" Tisby greeted her.

"We think Voldemort…" Lily started to say.

Tisby whimpered, and covered her ears at the sound of the dreaded name. Lily sighed in exasperation, a tad irritated by the elf's reaction, but continued regardless.

"We think _he's_ here" she explained hurriedly, trying to stay calm for all their sakes, "We need you to activate the dome".

"Right away Mistress Lily" Tisby nodded respectfully, before she vanished again with a second loud crack.

"The Dome?" Dumbledore wondered, looking around curiously.

After all, as far as he could see, there wasn't anything out in the grounds of the manor that even vaguely resembled a dome. James and Lily looked at each other, before they both nodded. If they couldn't trust _Dumbledore_ with this information, who could they?

It was James that started to explain.

"The wards manipulate themselves to form a dome of pure light magical energy that reaches up over the building and grounds" he explained as concisely as he could, "Nothing can get through it…".

He was cut off as a deafening rumble filled the air like thunder.

The ground trembled beneath their feet. Suddenly there was a massive whoosh, and dozens of beams of sheer golden magic burst out from beneath the ground, in a circle around Potter Manor and its grounds, arching up high into the sky. The beams of magic all coalesced at a singular point in the sky - and with all the power of a burning supernova - the ball of golden energy exploded outwards in every direction, falling at a downwards curve in the form of an almighty dome. Soon enough, the energy field slammed back into the ground, and a beautiful dome of glittering golden light was protecting the manor and grounds.

The magic radiating off it was almost blinding. It was obvious that this protection was some seriously impressive and powerful light magic.

"Most impressive" Dumbledore commented, rather casually given the current crisis they found themselves in, "How else can this most charming place protect itself?"

James knew that his father would be spinning in his grave if he knew James was giving away the manor's secrets, but James trusted Dumbledore. And right now wasn't the time for secrets. Dumbledore needed to know everything so that he could keep James, Lily, and most importantly of all, Harry alive.

So with that thought in mind, the younger man told him.

"If Voldemort manages to break through the dome and the wall and gets inside, the statues will come to life and distract him. We have magical sensors ready to fire some particularly unpleasant curses at him… the garden and trees will aim poisonous spores, pods and seeds at him, and that's just the tip of the iceberg" James said smugly.

James' father had once told him that in the ancient days, apparently one of their ancestors had been rather paranoid, and had installed all sorts of magical defences. The magic used to create them was so powerful that nobody could remove or disable them.

Right now, James had never been more grateful for that fact in his entire life.

"Well, let's hope things don't come to _that_ " Lily mumbled fearfully.

James turned to face her. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and hug her until she wasn't afraid anymore. It killed him to see his beloved Lily so tense and frightened. But now wasn't the time for comfort.

It was time to take action.

"Where's Harry?" he asked urgently. After all, his son's protection was a top priority.

"I sent him to Minerva's office at Hogwarts via the Snuffles Portkey we made for him" Lily quickly explained, still feeling guilty over sending Harry away all alone, "I put a note in his hand explaining everything. Minverva will protect him for us for the time being".

"Good" James nodded in relief. This was the very last situation Harry needed to be in right now.

James opened his mouth to speak again, but whatever words were on his lips never had the chance to be spoken. For at that exact moment, a large beam of crackling black lightning was sent hurtling at the dome of light.

James, Lily, and Dumbledore all shuddered.

All of them were able to feel the magical energy radiating from that beam of dark light. It felt like poison. The darkest form of evil.

It was utterly _revolting_.

None of them had to ask to know what it was. It was the essence of Voldemort's twisted dark magic. The jet of dark lightning struck the dome, but ricoheted off and faded. The dome rippled and faltered for a split-second, but almost immediately stabilized, and remained just as strong as ever.

"He's starting his assault!" Dumbledore warned darkly.

The warning wasn't really necessary though. After all, it was kind of obvious what was happening. Before any of them had chance to react beyond Dumbledore's warning, five more beams of darkness rained down upon the dome.

Again, the dome flickered slightly, but managed to hold.

"Merlin's beard" Lily whispered, "To even make it flicker takes an _immense_ amount of magic".

If Voldemort could wield that much dark magic single-handedly, Lily didn't much fancy their chances in this fight. Still, Harry was safe. And as a mother, that was the most important thing in the world.

"Then let's return the favour" James cried.

James, Lily and Dumbledore all held their wands up high over their heads, and as one, they each sent a different spell back over the wall. The three spells shot over the wall, and in the distance, they could quite clearly see the distinct flashes of magical explosions lighting up the sky. The black beams suddenly stopped.

James looked at the wall in wonder, an almost hopeful glint in his eyes.

"Do you think we hit him?" he couldn't help but ask.

He received his answer in less than a second.

"Merlin's Beard!" James yelled in horrified shock, "That's... that's _completely_ impossible!".

What had once been a golden dome of the purest light magic, was suddenly burning a furious scarlet. It was like somebody had set the magic on fire, burning and warping it into something dark and twisted. Swirling red clouds and black energy were covering the dome, trying to shatter it.

It was barely holding together under the strain.

Lily watched with wide, _terrified_ eyes.

"I can't believe it. How can _one_ wizard produce that much magic at once?!" she exclaimed in absolute disbelief.

Dumbledore looked grave indeed.

"This is the worst thing possible for our side" the old man shook his head in dismay, "Voldemort simply holds too much power. He must be stopped at any cost".

He was the calmest of the trio, but still worried none the less.

"James, Lily, wands at the ready" Dumbledore commanded, raising his own wand and pointing it in the direction of the wall surrounding the grounds. Lily and James both mirrored the action.

"Now!" the headmaster cried.

Together, the three of them began firing off every single offensive spell they could think of. Again and again, they launched spell after spell over the walls, towards their attacker. It wasn't really surprising that Dumbledore's were by far the most impressive. He was using a spell neither James nor Lily recognised to send orbs of shining silver light over the wall.

In the distance, they could hear the orbs exploding, and they could feel tremours running through the ground beneath their feet. It was taking everything James and Lily had just to keep up with him.

The battle raged on, and in the end it almost became like a fireworks display. Lights burning and exploding in all different colours. But something had to give. And within minutes, something _did_.

The dome began splintering.

"No!" Lily screamed, beyond horrified, "The Dome's integrity has being compromised!"

The young witch began waving her wand and uttered complex incantations at almost unbelievable speeds, and before the trio's very eyes, the cracks slowly sealed up as she sent every shield spell she could into them, fixing the damage Voldemort was doing to them.

"James, help her" Dumbledore commanded, a great sense of urgency in his tone, "I'll focus on the attack!"

James nodded his agreement. He quickly turned his attention to helping his wife rather than aiming his energies over the wall. Whilst Lily was definitely better at charms than James was, he was by no means a slouch himself, and so with the two of them working in perfect harmony, they slowly managed to reseal the cracks in their protection.

Within minutes, the dome was intact again. They both allowed a sigh of relief to slip their lips. The battle wasn't over yet however, and both the Potters knew it.

All the whilst, Dumbledore had been firing balls of pure magical energy over the wall at an almost insane pace. Satisfied that the dome would remain intact, at least for the time being, Lily and James refocused their efforts into helping him in his assault.

The hard-fought battle raged on.

James gritted his teeth in determination. Lily bit her lip, praying to every god she'd ever heard of that their luck would hold out.

Finally - yet not a moment too soon for the Potters and Dumbledore - after almost twenty minutes of intense spellcasting, they heard a sound that clearly signalled the end of the battle.

An enraged yell of outrage.

James, Lily and Dumbledore all waited with baited breath. Finally, to their upmost relief, the barrage of curses being thrown against the dome halted. As they watched, the trio witnessed a stream of black smoke rise up into the sky, and then it simply vanished from sight. There was only one conclusion for them to take from that.

It meant that Voldemort was gone.

They had won.

As one, James, Lily and Dumbledore all let out a collective sigh of relief.

"He's gone… but he will be back" Dumbledore told James and Lily solemnly.

The young parents both looked back at him fearfully. They knew he was right, despite how much they both wished he was wrong.

"We must come up with another plan, and soon" Dumbledore continued, his voice grave, "He knows where the manor is, and it is only a matter of time until he breaks through the defences".

The Potters glanced at each other wearily. Both of them were still very shaken from the recent encounter with the Dark Lord, yet despite that, there was also something else settling in their stomachs. A grim sense of determination.

Both James and Lily nodded in response to Dumbledore's warning. He was right after all. It was time to come up with another plan. They had to keep their family safe. And most importantly, they had to keep _their son_ safe.

No matter the cost.

* * *

 **And there's the first chapter : )**

 **Kind of intense, huh ; ) It's very similar to the original version of this chapter, but with much more emotion and detail added. I'm working off of the original chapters, changing them to fit with my new writing style, and basically just ironing out some of the stuff that was bugging me : )**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review telling me your thoughts and opinions : )**

 **Until the next time, keep on reading : )**


	2. Changing Tactics

**Hi guys : ) So the first chapter got an absolutely epic response : ) I was kind of nervous about uploading this story again since I messed it up the first time around, so thank you so much for all the support you guys have shown : )**

 **I especially want to thank those of you that reviewed/favourited/followed this story : ) It means a lot to me so thank you : )**

 **Anyway, this chapter is less action-packed than the first one, but it's necessary and quite important for setting up the entire plotline of this story.**

 **Beyond that, please remember that Harry Potter is not mine.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter : )**

* * *

 **Changing Tactics**

* * *

Lily was having a very difficult time processing the fact that less than an hour ago she had been tucked up in bed with her husband, lost in dreamland, without so much as a care in the world. Now it felt like it had all soured into an awful nightmare. One that she couldn't awaken from. And Voldemort scared her a hell of a lot more than anything _she_ could ever dream up. She could scarcely believe the position she currently found herself in.

Lily was in the main living room of Potter Manor. She was sitting in one of the plush armchairs that adorned the room. Her son was safely back in her arms, which was exactly where she wanted him right now. After an ordeal like she just had just survived, it was only naturally that Lily didn't want her baby out of her sight right now. Needless to say, she was a little on edge at the moment. Thankfully however, Lily was currently surrounded by some of the greatest and most talented witches and wizards that Lily had ever met, and they were helping her and James to come up with a new plan.

A plan that would hopefully allow them to live. A plan to keep her son safe.

For that, they would have her eternal gratitude.

Other than Lily herself, James was there too of course. Since both Lily and James were playing host to this impromptu emergency meeting, as the head of Potter Manor, he wasn't going anywhere. And even if he wasn't the head of the manor, this meeting was to hopefully come up with a plan to keep his only son safe. Naturally, James had several views on _that_ matter. Their son's safety was a top priority to them both after all.

Besides the Potters, Albus Dumbledore was still there as well. In fact - after requesting the permission of James and Lily to use their living room - he was the one that had called this emergency meeting. Albus was the head and founder of an organisation known as the Order of the Phoenix. It was something of a resistance party against Voldemort and his followers. It was a secret organisation working outside of the Ministry of Magic. It was supposedly only known to its own members. Lily and James were both members of the order, as were all of the other people in the room for the attendance of this emergency meeting.

Next to Dumbledore was the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts school, Professor Minerva McGonagall. She was a stern yet compassionate woman, and a highly talented witch, particularly skilled in the art of transfiguration. So much so in fact, that that the subject she taught at the school. Other than that, she was a high-ranking member of the Order of the Phoenix, as well as being someone that both Albus and the Potters alike would entrust with their lives. Lily had literally trusted the woman with _her son's_ life that very morning.

Out of all of those summoned to Potter Manor, Minerva looked the least perplexed by the urgency of the meeting - probably because Lily had partially explained what had been going on in the letter she'd sent to her with Harry.

After Professor McGonagall, sitting in a chair that had magically been enlarged and reinforced to support his impressive weight, was Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid wasn't the brightest person in the room, and he had very limited skills when it came to magic, due to being expelled from the school when he was student himself. He was someone useful to have around in a pinch though, both due to his physical strength and his nature of speaking the blunt truth. The man was a half-giant, but lacked the murderous nature that came with their kind. Instead, he was fiercely loyal to Dumbledore, and although they had mostly only had contact with him through their work for the order, both Lily and James had known the man since they'd been eleven years old.

They both had a fondness for him, but more importantly they trusted him. And in the times they lived in, trust wasn't something given easily.

In addition to Hagrid, James' three closest friends had also been requested to attend their little impromptu gathering. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Together with James, the four men were once four boys known as The Marauders. A group of trouble-makers, but brothers of a sort. James and Sirius were especially close, so much so that James had named Sirius as Harry's Godfather, a title that Sirius was extremely proud to have bestowed on him.

Out of the four of them, James was the leader. It was him that came up with the core idea of a scheme, whilst Remus would iron out the details, and Sirius would make sure it worked. Peter usually just followed their instructions.

Sirius was the flirtatious lady's man. There wasn't a woman he couldn't charm, and although Lily didn't approve of such behaviour, she knew that Sirius had no problem with having a different companion in his bed every night. She just hoped that one day he'd settle down. Underneath all that charm, she just knew he'd be a real family man if he gave himself the chance.

Then there was Remus.

Remus was the quiet, bookish one that would have excelled in the magical world had it not been for his unfortunate condition of being a werewolf - a creature that was regarded as no more than a disgusting beast by many pure-blood fascists. Poor Remus had to put up with so much crap, but Lily liked to think that having James and Sirius and Peter really got him through all the tough times. It was shame that those times were now a daily occurrence, for _all_ of them.

That left Peter as the shy and anxious one.

He tended to be the butt of Sirius' jokes, and throughout their school-days, the others had been forced to look out for Peter on more than one occasion due to him being a rather talentless pupil. Peter tended to do the more... well, _boring_ work for the order. The simpler, less dangerous tasks such as being the book researcher or a messenger for those that couldn't produce a Patronus capable of speech. Peter just simply wasn't built to be on the front lines of war.

But despite how different they all were in personality, James and Lily alike loved all of them dearly, and again, they were people that both of the Potters trusted undoubtedly. They were _family_. A family they could depend on.

Watching the Marauders with his eyes narrowed in distrust - since the quartet had once planted a dung-bomb under his seat during an Order meeting but he had discovered it before sitting down and had not seen the funny side - was another high-ranking member of the Order of the Phoenix. Alastor Moody. Personally, Lily felt that Moody was an appropriate name for him. Whenever she crossed paths with him, the man always seemed to be in an absolutely _foul_ mood. On the other hand however, she did understand that he had his reasons for being like that. Alastor was what was known as a Auror, a person responsible for upholding the law within the magical community. She knew that he must have seen some truly atrocious things in his profession, especially once the war had gotten underway.

Still, he was one of the best strategists that the order had, he was a seriously powerful wielder of magic, and he had saved countless lives with his quick-thinking on the battle-field. He might be a bit of a grumpy sod, but he was definitely a good person to have in your corner.

Finally, the last two people in attendance were a married couple called Frank and Alice Longbottom. Like Alastor, both Frank and Alice were talented Aurors. Or at least they had been, before they too, like Lily and James, had been forced into hiding. Neither Lily nor James knew Frank or Alice particularly well. Again, they had only ever really had contact with them after they'd all joined the order, but all four of them had the greatest empathy for one another.

They were all in the same situation after all.

Frank and Alice also had an infant son, their little bundle of joy being called Neville. And coincidentally enough, the Longbottoms' son had been born just one day prior to the birth of Lily's own son Harry. It was for this reason that both the young toddlers were targets for Lord Voldemort.

Lily still found the whole thing a little too far-fetched to believe sometimes. But it wasn't the type of thing a mother could simply ignore. Not when a _prophecy_ regarding her son being the possible saviour of the wizarding world had been made.

Yes.

Her baby.

Her _one year old son_ was apparently one of two boys that could potentially be the saviour the side of light had been so desperately in need of. The problem was, nobody knew if it was Harry or not for sure. Albus - who the original prophecy had been made too - had refused to share with them the actual wording of the prophecy, despite James' demands and Lily's pleas. He claimed it was information too sensitive to share, even with them.

Both Lily and James were still seething with him over that, but as one of their precious few allies, they had tried to move past it. They didn't have much choice but to trust him after all. Especially considering how his warning earlier that morning might just have saved their lives. But the problem was, according to Dumbledore, there were _two_ boys that he had found that the prophecy could refer too.

Harry, or Frank and Alice's son Neville.

Lily knew that it was extremely selfish on her part, and at times she did feel _incredibly_ guilty over thinking and feeling such things, but she whole-hearted hoped that Neville was the child that the prophecy referred too. She knew it was terrible, wishing that kind of horrible pressure and responsibility on an innocent child, but she just couldn't help it. The mother in her would do anything to protect her son.

 _Anything_.

And if there was any way that she could force the prophecy onto Neville instead of Harry, well, Lily wouldn't even stop to think about it, she would do it. God, she felt like a terrible person for thinking such things. Still, it was understandable for a mother to think in such an awful way.

Voldemort was the one who was really to blame. It always came back to him. _He_ was the one that put such awful pressure on ordinary decent people and forced them to make those kind of despicable choices.

A forlorn sigh escaped her lips at those dark thoughts.

To distract herself, Lily glanced around again at all those gathered. Save for herself, James, Albus, and Minerva - who Lily suspected only had an inkling as to what this was about due to the letter she'd sent to her with Harry - everyone else seemed perplexed as to why they'd been gathered so urgently. This wasn't an order meeting after all. In fact, the prophecy was under such tight-wraps that only the few people present even knew of its existence - at least on their side in the war - and only Dumbledore knew exactly what it said.

It was most likely due to this that the room was abuzz with confused chatter.

Lily was saved from having to make small-talk with anyone however for as soon as everybody was seated, Albus stood up in front of them all, and opened his mouth to speak. Naturally, silence just fell around him.

"Thank you all, for coming on such short notice" Albus greeted everyone, "I apologise for summoning you all so early in the day, but this is a matter of the upmost urgency".

"Obviously" Moody growled.

Sensing that the Auror, along with everyone else in the room, had no desire to beat about the bush, Albus cut straight to the point.

"There's been another attack" Albus said bluntly.

A ripple of chatter flowed through the people that didn't know what was going on.

"Oh Merlin" Alice clapped a hand to her mouth, "W-Who was it this time? Another Order member?"

It wasn't unreasonable for Alice to make that assumption. Five days earlier, Benjy Fenwick, another member of the Order of the Phoenix, had been cornered in his own home by four known Death Eaters. Benjy hadn't stood a chance against them. He had been obliterated into a million pieces. The Aurors were still collecting the bloodied fragments of what was left of him.

"Fear not" Albus said, and everyone returned their focus onto him again, "Nobody from the order has died today".

"Yet" Moody muttered.

"Alastor!" Minerva admonished.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but if nobody's died, what's the big emergency?" Sirius couldn't help but ask.

"Voldemort himself was present this time" Dumbledore informed them, his tone grim.

A small collective gasp escaped the group. Everyone immediately sat up straighter in their seats. Despite his fearsome reputation, Voldemort wasn't actually always present when a Death Eater Attack occurred. He sent his followers to do his bidding, and send his barbaric messages to those who'd earned his ire. Voldemort himself kept to the shadows. He allowed an air of mystery to surround himself. It was just another method of causing the people to fear him.

"What?!" Peter squeaked fearfully.

"Bloody hell" Sirius breathed.

"How in Merlin's name did the poor sod survive?" Frank couldn't help but blurt out.

It wasn't often that a person was lucky enough to escape from Lord Voldemort after all. Frank and Alice could vouch for that. And they had managed it not once, not twice, but _three_ times. Sadly, they were some of the _precious_ few people that had achieved such a feat.

Lily and James lightly grasped each other's hand for support. This was it. The moment of truth.

"Because this resplendent manor house has some of the most advanced defences known to wizarding kind" Albus told them.

As once, all eyes fell upon Lily and James.

"It was you two that he came after?" Remus asked hoarsely. Their faces set with the upmost grimness, Lily and James both nodded wordlessly.

A shudder ran throughout the group.

"Oh sweet Merlin" Sirius was the first one to recover.

Without waiting for an invitation, he stood up from his seat, and enveloped Lily in a tight hug. Lily returned it, surprisingly glad for the comfort. When those two broke apart, Sirius then pulled James into a hug too. James just laughed in amusement, although it was strained. Despite always trying his best to keep his spirits up - mostly for his wife and son's sakes - even James couldn't help the fear that every time he saw his friends might just be the last. It was the type of fear everybody felt.

And all because of this bloody never-ending war.

When Sirius pulled back from the hug, he returned to his seat.

"Sorry" he said sheepishly to Albus, though he didn't sound apologetic in the slightest.

"Your apology is appreciated, but unnecessary" Albus chuckled in amusement, "It is only natural you want to comfort your friends after the ordeal they just suffered through".

"Well that's very touching" Moody rolled his eyes sarcastically, "But what the bloody hell happened?"

Lily, James and Albus let out a collective sigh.

"In the early hours of this morning, a reliable source of mine requested an urgent meeting with me" Albus said, the ghost of a smile on his face - his brother Aberforth hasn't been best pleased when he'd turned up at three in the morning requesting to use his pub as the location for Albus' meeting with his informant - "It was quite a lengthy meeting. My source has gathered a lot of useful information for me and the order, including information that Voldemort was planning an attack on Potter Manor today, with every intention of destroying the one he sees as the biggest threat to his own powers".

Nobody had to ask who he was talking about. All eyes remorsefully fell upon the sleeping toddler in Lily's arms.

"Dumbledore got this information to Lily and myself" James piped up to tell his part of the story, "And we were preparing our defences when Voldemort showed up".

Peter gave a frightened squeak at hearing this.

"He came _here?_ " he exclaimed anxiously.

"Oh _no_ Peter" Sirius drawled sarcastically, " _No_ \- obviously with a baby that keeps them up all night - Lily and James were out doing a spot of early morning ballroom dancing when old Snake-Face came after them. Use your head Wormy!"

"Sorry" Peter muttered, wiping his sweating brow with his handkerchief.

"I think what Peter's actual concern is, Sirius, is why are we having this meeting here at the manor if Voldemort tried to get in here this very morning?" Remus elaborated for his friend. Peter nodded at him gratefully.

"That's a good point" Alice said nervously, "Wouldn't it be safer to do this somewhere else?"

"Oh _come on_ Alice, I thought you were brighter than that" Moody chuckled with a sense of dark humour.

Alice threw him an offended look. Moody easily shrugged it off.

"It's best to have the meeting here because it's already been proved today that Voldemort couldn't get past the defences" Moody explained, "It also makes sense for us to be here because if he returns with reinforcements, Lily and James have more than just Albus as back up, no offence" he offered this last part to his friend.

"None taken" Albus smiled in amusement.

Alice and Peter both still looked uneasy, but neither could deny that he'd brought up several good logical points.

"Anyway" James resumed his storytelling, "When he came near the manor, his presence set off the alarm enchantments. I rushed out into the grounds to activate some of the dormant defences, whilst Lily rushed off to collect Harry".

"I sent Harry away via a portkey to Hogwarts with a letter to Minerva before I hurried to join James" Lily added.

"Moments later, young Harry appeared in my office at Hogwarts" Minerva piped up, "Naturally I informed Albus of this immediately. We both knew his arrival had to mean that Potter Manor was already under attack".

"I made the upmost haste to arrive at the manor as soon as possible" Albus picked up where Minerva had left off, "I'd barely set foot out of the fireplace when I crossed paths with Lily. Together, we hurried off to find James, who was outside in the grounds".

"We had Tisby - our house-elf - activate... one of the manor's strongest defences" James said, biting his lip nervously.

He was very careful not to mention anything specific about The Dome. It wasn't that James didn't trust everyone present, he honestly did, but some kinds of information were just best kept between a small number of people. In fact; only he, Lily, Tisby, Sirius - and as of this morning - Dumbledore knew about The Dome's existence, and just how impressive the magic that had gone into creating it truly was. Across from him, Sirius' eyes widened in shocked realisation. It wasn't every day that the manor had to be protected by magic as powerful as that of The Dome after all. James silently nodded at him.

"Merlin" Sirius whispered under his breath.

If it took magic as strong as The Dome to keep old Snake-Face out, than the bastard was even stronger than they'd all originally thought.

"Anyway" James spoke up again so that nobody had the chance to ask more about the defences, "Voldemort tried his damnedest to get through the protective enchantments - no easy feat I can assure you - and he might have succeeded had myself, Lily, and Albus not returned fire on him".

"He almost got through wards as strong as those surrounding Potter Manor?" Minerva gasped in shock.

James arched an eyebrow at her. Catching his reaction, Minerva allowed a sigh to escape her lips.

"James, I may be a master in the art of transfiguration, but my magical skills are broader than just that" she informed him with a sort of forced patience, "I can sense the strength of the magical protections in the air around this entire building".

"Me too" Moody smirked at James, who tried his best not to scowl. So much for not revealing just how strong the magic around the manor was.

"I didn't know the manor's defences were so magically powerful" Remus mused thoughtfully.

"That doesn't matter" James said impatiently, "What matters is that we need to come up with a new plan. Voldemort almost got in here today, which means that Harry could be in very real danger if we don't do anything soon".

Lily closed her eyes in despair. It was never easy for a mother to hear that their baby was in danger after all. She had no disillusions about the situation Harry was in though. It just wasn't easy to hear it stated so bluntly.

"Precisely" Albus nodded in agreement with James' assessment of the situation, "And that is why I summoned each of you here today. I am hoping that between us all, we can formulate a new plan, as well as contingency plans in case something goes wrong".

There was a moment of silence as everyone reflected on everything they had just been told.

"But... well, if the defences of Potter Manor are as strong as you're claiming, surely they'll hold again if he does turn up again" Hagrid said, speaking up for the first time since the meeting had started.

"I'm afraid that simply isn't a risk we can take Hagrid" Albus shook his head regretfully, "Not when there's so much at stake".

The wise old man gestured sadly at the babe sleeping in his mother's arms.

"Ah" Hagrid scratched his ear sheepishly, "Of course. Sorry. I wasn't thinkin' Sir".

"Perhaps we could add new protective enchantments to the manor?" Alice suggested, biting her lip thoughtfully, "The Fidelius Charm perhaps?"

Alice, like Lily and Dumbledore, had a lot of faith in The Fidelius Charm. It was a powerful enchantment that involved a person that was known as a Secret Keeper. Basically how it worked was the charm was cast around a building, erasing the knowledge of its location entirely. Even people who knew where the manor had been before the spell was cast would forget where it was after it was done. The building would be completely invisible, and unplottable, meaning it couldn't be located using a map, even if the location was on a map before the charm was enacted. The only people who would know where the building was would be the people inside it when The Fidelius Charm was cast. And even they wouldn't be able to reveal the location to anyone.

The only person that could do that was the Secret Keeper.

The Secret Keeper was a trusted soul whom was part of the enactment of the charm. The knowledge of the location was literally sealed within their very being of existence. Only they had the power to speak of its location. Which meant that if the Potters were to take this course of action, the Secret Keeper would have to be a person they trusted above all else. Unfortunately, the Fidelius Charm wasn't a route the Potters could take though.

"I'm afraid that casting The Fidelius Charm around Potter Manor might be impossible" James shook his head regretfully, "The casting of that charm would disrupt the other wards in place around the manor. Wards that have existed for _generations_ and are so ancient and strong by this time that they're impossible to deactivate. It's highly probable that they would prevent the charm from even working, or break it the moment the charm was cast".

"Seriously?" Frank blinked in amazement, "The wards are _that_ powerful?"

James wearily nodded his head.

"Perhaps, until the heat has died down as it were, the three of you could move into a safe house?" Minerva suggested thoughtfully, "To a location where the charm _could_ be cast without causing so much disruption?"

James looked very uneasy at that suggestion. Lily and himself had already thought of that idea, and discussed the possibility of doing exactly that several times already. Lily was all for the idea. James - not so much. Some might call it naïve, but James had absolute faith in Potter Manor and its ability to defend its inhabitants. Faith that today had only served to reinforce. Still - he wasn't willing to risk his only son's safety on _faith_. James knew he had to think this all the way through.

His son's life depended on it.

"We've already discussed that possibility" James admitted to the group, "And until now, we felt that Potter Manor was safe enough for us to stay here".

"After today though, I'm not so sure about that any more" Lily sighed forlornly. Whilst she loved the manor just as much as James did, Lily was not prepared to put all her eggs in one basket. With her son's life at stake, she was prepared to do whatever it took to keep him out of Voldemort's reach.

Including uprooting her entire life and moving far away.

"Even if James and Lily took Harry and moved out of here, where would they go?" Remus was the one to ask the most obvious question.

"Somewhere in Hogsmeade?" Peter suggested, "Close to Professor Dumbledore so he could help them if they needed it".

"That's far too obvious a choice" Moody immediately shot that idea down, "Voldemort would expect them to move to a location that had something to do with Dumbledore. No. The way I see it, if they decided to go down The Fidelius Charm route, the Potters have two options that have a shot of working".

James and Lily couldn't help but share a hopeful glance upon hearing those words.

"Not that I'm agreeing that The Fidelius Charm is the action we should or will take, but what are you thinking Alastor?" James asked politely.

All eyes fell on Moody as they awaited his proposals.

"Well, I think the best idea for now is to simply get out of Britain" the elite Auror shrugged.

Lily's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"But that would involve leaving everyone we love behind!" she exclaimed in shock, "Plus what about our work for the order? We can't just jump ship on everyone".

"I thought this was about keeping your son safe" Moody reminded her darkly.

Lily was suddenly hit by the strongest urge to cry. She couldn't believe that this was what it had all boiled down too. Was it really their best bet to just abandon their friends, family, and the side of light just to ensure their own survival? It just seemed like such a cowardly option to take.

"I'm not sure" Lily shook her head uncertainly.

She turned to her husband, hoping for some encouraging words of support, but sadly James seemed to be just as uncertain as she was. It was a long time before the Head of the Potter family spoke.

"I think, for now at least, we should keep that as our last resort" he said slowly, obviously thinking furiously hard about this, "I'm not saying no, as one day it might be our only chance for survival, but for now I think we should keep our options open. I do think it's worth keeping that in mind though. Plus we could look into the possibility of purchasing a house abroad to use as a safe-house".

Moody nodded, pleased that they'd at least consider the idea. He knew it was extreme, but he really was just thinking of their best interests.

"What was your second idea Alastor?" Minerva inquired, turning to him, "You said you thought there were two options".

Moody scowled grimly.

"This way is more risky, but would keep you in Britain" he grumbled.

"What is it?" Lily asked with an air of impatience.

"Well, again, you move to a new location and the Fidelius Charm is cast, but you move to the most obscure location we can come up with" Moody explained, "Somewhere that has absolutely nothing to do with the order".

"Why nothing to do with the order?" Peter piped up.

Moody turned to him with a glare, and Peter let out a fearful squeak. It was no secret that Moody scared poor Peter witless.

"Because Voldemort may be many things, but he isn't an idiot" Moody growled at the small whimpering man impatiently, "If he doesn't know for sure about the Order's existence yet, which I find highly unlikely given the increase of attacks on its members recently, then he at least has suspicions of its existence. It's also reasonable to assume that he correctly believes that Dumbledore is its founder and leader, and that the people closest to him are apart of it".

"Which means?" Sirius was the one to ask.

"Which means Black, that Voldemort may come to the conclusion that any building connected to Dumbledore or those closest too him are possible safe houses" Moody grumbled in annoyance.

"An assumption he would be correct in making" Minerva sighed, shaking her head tiredly.

"Which is exactly why it makes the most sense to carefully select an obscure location that has absolutely nothing to do with Dumbledore or the Order of the Phoenix" Moody explained, his tone distinctly annoyed. What he was proposing wasn't exactly an easy task, nor one that they could afford to take lightly. Not when the Potters lives depended on it.

"Well in that case, perhaps it would also be worth considering withdrawing from the magical community entirely" Frank piped up.

"Shouldn't you and Alice also bare these ideas in mind?" Remus turned to the other man thoughtfully, "After all, the prophecy call still apply to your son too".

None of them noticed how Albus twitched ever-so-slightly at that comment. It was obvious he knew, or at least suspected, something he wasn't keen to share with the rest of the class at the moment.

"He's right Frank" Alice immediately nodded her agreement, "We have to keep Neville save at all costs".

"Where is Neville anyway?" Lily couldn't help but ask. If Alice was anything like her after all, her son wouldn't be out of her sight.

"He's back at Longbottom Hall under the care and protection of my mother" Frank was the one to explain, "He's been ill over the past few days so we didn't want to risk taking him through the Floo with us".

Judging by the look on Alice's face, she was none too happy about leaving Neville in the care of Augusta Longbottom. Lily had never met the woman herself, but she'd heard of her. Augusta had a fearsome reputation in the wizarding community after all. And based on Alice's expression, it wasn't built on rumours.

"Augusta is an extremely capable witch" Albus nodded at them, "She will keep Neville safe for now. Although Remus does bring up a good point in the fact that the Longbottom family could be in danger too".

"Myself, Frank and Augusta have already discussed the possibility of casting the Fidelius Charm over Longbottom Hall" Alice explained to the group, "The hall isn't anywhere near as ancient as Potter Manor is, and we've already checked the runes we use to power to the wards. We should be able to cast the Fidelius Charm with minimal disruption to the defences we already have".

"Then I would suggest you do so immediately after this meeting" Albus said to Frank and Alice gravely, "By coming here today, Voldemort has shown to us that he believes whole-hearted that the prophecy will come to pass".

"If he had a heart that is" Sirius snarked under his breath. A few members of their group smirked at the dark humour.

"Who would be your Secret Keeper?" Minerva asked. It would be useful to know who it was they'd need to go to in order to contact the Longbottoms should the need to ever arise.

"I would be the Secret Keeper, and would remain inside the hall with my family" Frank stated firmly, "However I would naturally allow Albus to know the location of Longbottom Hall so that he can keep us up-to-date with the happenings of the order".

"I think that is a wise decision" Albus nodded his agreement.

"So what about us?" Lily asked, mostly just to remind them that Harry was the one who had been targeted this morning, "What are we going to do?"

"Well, if we assume for now that you are going to take the Fidelius Charm option, why don't the three of you come and stay with us at Longbottom Hall?" Alice suggested kindly, "That way you'd be safe behind the charm until you can sort out new accommodation where you can cast the Fidelius Charm yourselves".

Lily and James both looked at each other thoughtfully. It was a rather tempting offer. After all, Voldemort had already shown today that he knew where Potter Manor was. Neither of them could even begin to imagine how he'd learnt of its location, but it meant that he could come back and try to get in again at any time he desired. And Lily and James had both seen first-hand just how strong he was. It took a serious amount of magical energy to even make contact with The Dome, and Voldemort had managed to bloody _crack_ it. Plus Frank and Alice were both talented Aurors. Who better than them to have around to help protect Harry?

Surprisingly enough however, it was Albus that spoke up in protest of Alice's idea.

"I don't think that is a recommendable idea" Albus said politely but firmly, "Should Voldemort learn of your location in some way, he could very well murder Neville as well if both boys were to be in the same location. We might be helping him instead of hindering him".

Alice looked absolutely horrified. It was more than a little obvious that the thought of that hadn't even crossed her mind.

"But how could he possibly learn of the hall's location if I am the Secret Keeper?" Frank asked, perplexed by the very notion, "I would be hidden inside Longbottom Hall too".

"True, but to put it bluntly, is that really a risk any of us are willing to take?" Albus said grimly. Frank bit his lip, but eventually shook his head.

"He's right" he eventually said, looking at Lily and James apologetically, "I'm sorry but it's just too dangerous to have Neville and Harry at the same location".

"Don't be silly, it's fine" James waved his apology off.

"We completely understand" Lily agreed. If the roles were reversed, she'd be hesitant to have Neville anywhere near her son too if it placed Harry in even more danger than he was already in.

"So what exactly are we going to do then?" Sirius asked with an air of impatience, "Are we going with the bloody Fidelius Charm or not?"

"I really do believe it is your best shot at survival - at _Harry's_ survival" Albus looked at the Potters imploringly, "I would be more than willing to be your Secret Keeper. You all know I would never reveal your location to the enemy".

"I appreciate the sentiments Albus, but if we were to cast the charm, I'd want Sirius to be our Secret Keeper" James said politely but firmly.

Beside him, Sirius looked rather touched. It was a responsibility he'd take with the upmost honour, and he would never _ever_ allow another living soul to learn of the Potters' location. He'd sooner _die_ than betray them. They were his family, despite the fact that he didn't share blood them with. And those he did share blood with, he had never considered family.

"No offense to you of course Albus" James continued before Sirius could speak up, "I have no doubt that you would never betray us, but you've proven once again today that you're not built to remain off the battlefield behind the lines. I know you are one of the most powerful wizards to ever have lived, but even you are just as mortal as the rest of us. You could be killed one day in battle and then the charm would break anyway. Plus you're much more of a target than Sirius would ever be".

Albus was loathed to admit it, but those were some really logical arguments.

"I understand completely" Albus nodded. He knew that the bond between James and Sirius was akin to brotherhood. It was extremely unlikely for Sirius to ever betray James, Lily and Harry. Nevertheless, Albus was beginning to have suspicions that the Order of the Phoenix may have a traitor in their mix. Sensitive information had been leaking into their enemies' hands. The gruesome murder of poor Benjy Fenwick was a testament to that.

Someone in the order was leaking information.

And whilst Albus had no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Sirius was the traitor, he was conscious of the fact that information as sensitive as the Potters' new location must be kept under wraps.

"So, is this the route we're going to take or not?" Remus was the one to ask.

"It does sound like the best action for yers all to take" Hagrid agreed gruffly.

"It is the Potters' decision at the end of the day" Albus reminded them all.

"James?" Lily looked at her husband hopefully. It was more than obvious that she was hoping her husband would allow them to take this course of action. Not that she didn't have a say of course. This was her baby's _life_ they were talking about. _Of course_ she had a say. But to Lily at least, it would be preferable if the both of them could agree on the matter before taking any further action.

All eyes fell upon James.

James was silent for a good two minutes as he thought all the ramifications of this new tactic through. In the end however, the pros outweighed the cons. It may be an inconvenience having to move, and he couldn't help but feel like he was running away from his responsibilities, but James would do absolutely anything to keep his family safe.

 _Anything_.

And if leaving Potter Manor was the only way to ensure Harry's survival, then James would just have to be the first Potter ever to break the tradition and live somewhere else other than the manor. An exhausted sigh of misery escaped James' lips. He nodded once. An outbreak of chatter broke across the group. Lily sagged backwards in her chair, looking over the moon with relief. She beamed at James who smiled weakly back at her.

He just hoped that they were taking the right course of action by doing this. After all, if they messed this up, they were unlikely to get another shot. And worst of all, if a mistake was made, it would be Harry that would pay the price. His heart clenched in despair at the thought.

"Alright, it's decided then" Albus said, obviously pleased by the outcome, "Now I suggest we come up with some ideas about where we can move them too".

James gritted his teeth.

He had a feeling this meeting was far from over.

* * *

 **And there's the cut off point : )**

 **I have to tell you guys, I was really struggling to get this one going. I just couldn't seem to get started, but then suddenly I got out over four thousand words in one day which was just great : )**

 **Now, this chapter mainly served to introduce some of the other characters that will be important in this story.**

 **Hagrid could have been lifted out though. I wish I could have included him more, but sometimes these things just write themselves. I do want him to be an important character in the future though.**

 **One of the things that really threw me off though was if Moody had his magical eye at this point. I checked using my copy of The Goblet of Fire, during the pensive scenes, and he didn't. He had his two normal eyes at this point in the timeline, which is really cool because it means I might be able to do a mini side-story chapter on what happened to him : )**

 **Also, the only reason I had Peter there was because it simply didn't make sense for him not to be there. James and Lily both love and trust him at this point. Plus, by him being there, it means that he can pass on the information to Voldemort so it'll fit in with the main plotline of this story : )**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for reading, and please let me know what you thought of this chapter in a review.**

 **Until the next time, keep on reading : )**


End file.
